The 2008 season brought a new look to the Amemiya FD. The machine had changed its main sponsor from Aspara Drink (a type of energy drink in Japan) to Ogura Clutch. The switch in companies led to a change in the long time yellow color scheme of the number 7 car. With a fresh blue and silver exterior, the boys and girls in the Amemiya pit were looking to make up for their dismal 14th place finish in the 2007 series. How'd the team do? Read on and find out.

Round 1 - The season opener at Suzuka Circuit began with the number 7 machine qualifying in second place. On race day, the team started with driver Hiroyuki Iiri who was unable to overtake the pole starter no. 2 Privee KENZO Asset Shinden. After a pit stop and switch to Ryo Orime, the FD was able to wriggle it’s way to the head of the pack by moving through the inside of the chicane on lap 39. It was smooth sailing from there on out. Orime was able to increase the gap and take home the gold in the season opener.

Round 2 - Next up was April’s race at Okayama International Circuit. Perhaps due to the wet conditions of the course and 7’s 55 kg weight handicap, the team qualified in 13th place. Iiri once again took the wheel from the start and managed to move the machine up into the 8th place position. Unfortunately, that rhythm was broken after the driver change when Orime was tapped by the No. 2 Privee machine, and found itself off-roading. Orime was able to get the car back on the track, but he wasn’t able to recover the lost time. Okayama saw the team finish in 14th.

Round 3 - With May came the Fuji Speedway 500 km race. Because of the extended distance on this stage (all but one other stage are only 300 km) a machine’s fuel consumption plays a major factor when considering pit strategy. With the Amemiya 7 still hefting its 55 kg weight handicap and its NA 20B, the team had an obvious disadvantage when it came to MPG. Regardless, track conditions were good and the team managed to qualify in 6th place. Per team tradition, they started with Mr. Iiri who managed to finesse the 7 into the 3rd place position before the driver change. Orime carried the momentum to bring the car into the second place position. Despite the strong effort put forth by the drivers, the team was forced to pit once more due to, in Mr. Amemiya’s translated words, “the poor efficiency of the rotary engine” and was assumed that they would finish around 7th or 8th. Unfortunately, the car suffered from differential problems and the team was forced to retire.

Round 4 – If you’ve even been in South-East Asia in June, then you must feel sorry for the teams during their only international race at Sepang Circuit in Malaysia. Despite being 40 kg lighter, the car still found itself starting the race in the 10th place position. Regardless, Iiri drove like a man determined and managed to pit in after climbing to the second place spot. Though the pit crew wasn’t exactly slow, Orime joined the race in 5th place. After a series of dogfights, it seemed that the machine was going to finish in 4th until the 3rd place No.4 EBBRO UEMATSU 320R developed engine problems on the final corner of the final lap. Orime was able to overtake him and brought home a podium finish.

Round 5 – July’s race at Sugo Sportsland brought the series back to the Japanese islands, where we have a revitalized team Amemiya after their podium finish in Sepang. Despite starting 11th on the grid and placing a “worrying” 17th in the free lap, the drivers and mechanics fought hard to the end. In the 59th lap, a dogfight broke out for 4th place which resulted in the 4th ranked No. 11 JIMCENTER ADVAN F430 going off course after colliding with the No. 2 I.M. JIHAN CO.LTD APPLE Shiden, thus allowing the Amemiya 7 to finish the race in 4th place.

Round 6 - The final race at Suzuka is a real killer- 1000km in the dead of Japanese summer. Qualifying under wet conditions didn’t help either. Though the 4WD Subaru WRX had no problems qualifying in first, the Amemiya FD didn’t fare as well, and held the 7th spot on the grid on race day. Benefiting from dry conditions on race day, the drivers pushed their way up the ranks managing to snag the 2nd place position before swapping from Iiri to Orime. At one point, our favorite car number 7 even held the lead until it had to go in for its third pit stop. Luckily, it had enough of a cushion to allow a podium finish- the team brought home 3rd place and a strong chance for the championship.

Round 7 – Round seven at Twin Ring Motegi was going to be a tough race for the boys and girls in the Amemiya pit. With their wins in the season came a weight handicap- 115 kg of it. In a series where engines with torque have an advantage, the rotary definitely has its work cut out for it; couple that with the weight of two extra passengers in your car and your chances for winning seem rather slim. Undaunted, drivers Iiri and Orime attacked the circuit on Saturday to qualify, “not missing a beat,” adds Amemiya-san, only to have their efforts rewarded with a 12th place start. As to be expected, the boys didn’t fare to well, finishing in 13th, and not moving up in the ranks.

Round 8 – The Autopolis round is a very special one because this was the race where Rotary News actually had a presence. The course at Autopolis has a fairly punishing set of hills- the type of area where mistakes and weight handicaps are quite punishing. Despite finishing in the double the digits, the ORC Amemiya SGC-7 machine still carried a 45 kg burden along on the up-down course. This point in the season was the make it or break it point for Amemiya Racing. The team started the race in 4th place with only one point behind the 3rd place Privee Kenzo machine and a 11 points behind the 1st place MOLA Fairlady Z. If there was a time to make their move, it was at Autopolis. Unfortunately, Saturday’s qualifying found them at number 15 on the list. Despite being able to make up some ground during the race, the team was forced to retire in 9th place, as a result of electrical problems.

Round 9 – The season closer was held at Fuji Speedway in Shizuoka prefecture. Despite getting a beneficial time on a dry course on Friday, the team was cursed with wet conditions during qualifying on Saturday, and again found themselves in the middle of the pack. Despite it all, the boys ran like there was no tomorrow (I guess technically there wasn’t- at least not of the 2008 season anyway.) Opening on semi-wet conditions, Iiri ran like a bat out of hades and managed to snag the 3rd place spot- until the transmission lost its 3rd gear. Iiri managed to keep it together and hold the 4th place spot when he passed the reins to Orime. Orime pushed the number 7 machine until the car went through a hair pin, slowed down, and came to a dead stop. Sadly, the team had to retire after running a wonderful final race.

Conclusion – Despite a strong showing in the beginning, the team wasn't able to pull it off where it counted and finished in an unfortunate coincidental 7th place. The 2008 season had its fair share of ups and downs, but with the Mr. Amemiya already testing the new 2009 machine, he and everyone else at Amemiya Racing seem determined to try for that podium once again this year. We at Rotary News will do our best to keep you rotor heads updated with the events as they unfold on this side of the Pacific.

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